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Researchers develop holes 60,000 times smaller than human hair

KTH PhD student Fabio De Ferrari pictured with samples from his research on DNA sensing. He believes this has potential to advance personalized medicine worldwide. Photo: Cecilia Aronsson
KTH PhD student Fabio De Ferrari pictured with samples from his research on DNA sensing. He believes this has potential to advance personalized medicine worldwide. Photo: Cecilia Aronsson

New process offers extreme precision that could revolutionize medical diagnostics and beyond.

KTH PhD student Fabio De Ferrari and colleagues have discovered a cost-effective way to create ultra-small pores in silicon – smaller than 5 nanometers in diameter.

Using gold nanoparticles and a method called metal-assisted chemical etching, the researchers also discovered a self-limiting effect—like a drill that stops automatically at just the right depth—making the technique highly precise and scalable.

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